Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Lotto prize winner ‘so lucky’ to be an Alzheimer’s carer
LOTTERY millionaire Sally Cloke is working on the coronavirus front line looking after Alzheimer’s patients at a care home.
Sally, 54, and partner Richard Thursby, 57, of Virginia Water, Surrey, landed a £1million win in 2015. Sally initially quit working as a carer but missed the job so much she returned in 2017.
The mum-of-three now earns £10 an hour working nights at a private care home but admits it was a “tough decision” to carry on, fearing she was putting her family’s health at risk.
Sally said: “My partner recently had a bleed on the brain, so his immune system is very low, and my daughter and her young baby live with us. But I have made close friends at the home and I would never let them down, especially at a time like this.
“It’s very scary for my family, obviously they would rather I wasn’t working, but I tell them my residents need me. At the end of the day, it’s my job and my family understand that.
“I’m not a hero, far from it, but I am very proud to be part of the fight against coronavirus.”
Sally, who has actually increased the number of night shifts she does during the crisis, said the care home is “well supplied” with PPE.
She said: “I have been there since the beginning of Covid-19. Obviously there have been many challenging moments and very sad times. But it’s a good home. Everything is in place and we are all very conscious about hygiene and cleaning hands.
“We are doing the best we can for them.”